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| Saturday, July 1, 2000 |
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A DEFINITE procedure is recommended for parking your car for the day. It would be a definite help to the engine if you switched off the A/C compressor about a 100 yards from home. The blower will continue to blow cool air for the next few minutes. Let the engine idle for a minute. Check the instruments. If the fuel gauge is low, remember to refuel your car the first thing in the morning. Little things like this help you to plan for the next day. And believe me, filling up is important, it is not a "little thing"! Running out of petrol on your way to a meeting, can be very exasperating! Switch off the radio or cassette, if you were playing one. It is important to switch off the wipers. If you leave the wipers on, they will automatically start to wipe the windscreen the moment you switch on the ignition. Overnight, the windscreen dries and some very fine dust collects on it. The dust can scratch the windscreen. The right way to go about this is to park your car, and give a couple of squirts from the washer while your wipers are still on. A clean windscreen is a tremendous aid to good and safe driving. |
| The washer should be working and to get a
really clean windscreen, any household glass cleaner can
be mixed with the water in the washer bottle. A truck or
bus on a wet road, can throw a spray onto the windscreen.
This has mud and grease and the cleaner helps give you a
clear vision. No vehicle should be allowed on the road without the two mandatory wipers provided by the manufacturer. You, the driver/owner, should pay great attention to this detail in the interest of your own safety and that of your family. Having checked the instrument panel, put the car in neutral with the hand brake on and the windshield washed and clean. Switch off the light and then the engine. Every car these days has a hand brake that works. Use it. And have the car in neutral. Starting a car in gear makes it jump a couple of feet. You may not have that much space between your bumper and the garage wall. Also an elderly person, a child or a dog could be next to the car. You could hit them. Finally, lock the car. Even though it is in your own garage, the car has important documents inside. Safeguard them. The dust that collects on your windscreen shows how dirty unswept areas can be. For instance, if you don’t clean your head lights almost 50 per cent of the light will be blocked by the road grime. If you are to drive at night, it will be necessary to clean the headlights. Keep a cotton rag for this purpose. Some of the more expensive cars have wipers for the headlights. The manufacturers know the problem but not all of them have thought of giving wipers for headlights. So it’s DIY. Do-it-yourself. Happy motoring! |
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